Presently, it is relatively common to use various types of interior steps or stairs in a swimming pool for swimmers to gain access to and exit the swimming pool. A well recognized style of interior steps is known as a “wedding cake” step form. In certain types of swimming pools, such as ones constructed of concrete or gunite, permanent interior steps are often built on site by constructing a step form. The step form is filled with concrete, and when the concrete has set and dried, the step form is removed. The cost of manufacturing concrete steps is expensive and labor intensive, requiring highly skilled workers for construction. However, a concrete step is advantageous for concrete or gunite type pools and when there is a need for variations in the step shape or size.
However, a problem is presented when concrete steps are used for vinyl liner type swimming pools. With these types of pools, it is difficult to accurately measure and build a conforming liner to cover the concrete steps due to the variability and the unique shapes and sizes of poured concrete steps.
As an alternative to poured concrete steps, one-piece molded plastic steps have been designed and used. However, one-piece molded plastic step designs have minimal structure to support the weight of swimmers and water pressure forces. As a result, one-piece molded plastic steps have size limitations and do not perform well when covered with a vinyl liner.
Therefore, for the reasons stated above, there is currently a need for a plastic step system that is adaptable to a pool having a vinyl liner, structurally sound regardless of size, easy to assemble, consistent in size, and cost-effective; such as that provided by the present invention described herein.